Design for a circular economy is rising up the policy agenda at multiple levels of governance -European, national and regional. Within Europe, interest in the transition to a circular economy is driven by the need to address the increasing environmental pressures brought about through the traditional 'take-make-consume-dispose' production model, to become more resilient to resource scarcity and volatile commodity prices, and to enhance the competitiveness of European business through cost savings and development of new markets. However, transition to a circular economy will be a complex process and a policy framework that creates favourable conditions for the public and private sector to adopt circular principles is needed. In developing such a framework, it is crucial that the views of stakeholders are appropriately represented. Design is an approach to problem-solving that can be applied across the private and public sectors to drive innovation in products, processes, services, society and even policy-making by putting people first.This article explores how design methods can be used to develop policy proposals that are tangible, realistic and seek to align market and government needs. By transposing established theory on innovation ecosystems, this research has mapped the Design for Circular Economy Ecosystem in Scotland, explored the systemic strengths and weaknesses and co-developed a set of actions with key stakeholders. Using design methods, twelve actions have been developed focusing on the themes of: (1) business support and finance;(2) skills and education; (3) promotion and awareness; and (4) policy and regulation. Furthermore, the actions are broken down by scope according to whether it is groundwork, instigating change, or systemic change.Scotland is one of an increasing number of European regions that are accelerating progress towards a more circular economy through design. Following the adoption of the European Commission's 2015 Circular Economy Package, a number of good practices can be drawn from the experiences in Scotland for other countries and regions looking to build design capacity.
Mesoporous palladium/silicon nitride nanocomposites were prepared via three different chemical routes to generate simultaneous control of the solid-state morphology of the palladium nanoparticles and that of the silicon nitride support at the same time as controlling the pore size and size distribution. Pyrolysis of the reaction product of silicon diimide gel with PdCl 2 under a NH 3 flow at 1000 °C gave a composite with highly crystalline Pd nanoparticles dispersed in an R-Si 3 N 4 matrix. A composite with partially crystallized Pd nanoparticles dispersed in an amorphous Si 3 N 4 matrix was obtained by the hydrogen reduction of the reaction product of silicon nitride with PdCl 2 , whereas hydrogen reduction of an impregnated mixture of Si 3 N 4 with bis(dibenzylideneacetone)palladium (DBA) led to the formation of a composite with amorphous Pd nanoparticles dispersed in an amorphous Si 3 N 4 matrix. Most of these new mesoporous nanocomposites exhibit a high surface area >400 m 2 g -1 and a narrow pore size distribution of 5-12 nm with a loading of up to 2% Pd nanoparticles 2-20 nm in diameter. Preliminary investigations show that these nanocomposites are potentially useful heterogeneous catalysts for a range of liquidphase chemical reactions.
This paper reports on the application of design-based tools used to uncover the needs of people living with a chronic condition. It was built on increasing rhetoric calling for greater involvement of patients in the creation of appropriate support mechanisms, and presents a means to achieve this using design approaches and tools. The paper presents the development and use of scenariobased design probes to facilitate participation of People Living with Lymphoedema (PLWL) early in the design process. Lymphoedema is a chronic condition requiring a cumbersome everyday management routine. Selfmanagement support is necessary to increase quality of life, and decrease complications and hospitalisation. However, consistent practice of selfmanagement among PLWL is low and the need to improve support is recognised. This research explored how PLWL's transitions towards becoming experts of their condition might be supported. Literature describing the lymphoedema experience was systematically investigated from a behavioural perspective to develop scenario-based probes. These probes provided rich insights by facilitating the envisioning of alternative futures to self-management support with interview participants with lymphoedema. To inform the design of better support for chronic conditions, the stages and components of behaviour change for lymphoedema self-management, and the associated support needs are presented.
Advanced three-dimensional (3D) design and engineering technologies have revolutionized patient-specific implants, prostheses and medical devices, particularly in the cranio-maxillofacial and oral medical fields. Lately, decreasing costs, coupled with the reported benefits of bringing design and production technology closer to the point of healthcare delivery, have encouraged hospitals to implement their own 3D design and engineering services. Most academic literature reports on the factors that influence the sustainable development of such services in high-income countries. But what of low- and middle-income countries where demand for custom craniofacial devices is high? What are the unique challenges to implement in-hospital services in resource-constrained environments? This article reports the findings of a collaborative project, Co-MeDDI (Collaborative Medical Device Design Initiative), that brought together a UK-based team with the experience of setting up and running a hospital-based 3D service in the United Kingdom with the Maxillofacial Department of a public hospital in the Uttar Pradesh region of India, which had recently received funding to establish a similar capability. We describe a structured design research approach consisting of a series of exchange activities taking place during the lifetime of the project that compared different aspects of the healthcare innovation ecosystem for 3D services in India and the United Kingdom. Based on the findings of the different activities, we identify key factors that influence the adoption of such services in India. The findings are of relevance to healthcare policy-makers and public hospital managers in resource-constrained environments, and to academics and practitioners engaging in collaborative export of healthcare initiatives.
Public services have recently experienced a 'perfect storm', dealing with challenges including the task demands of COVID-19, increased financial pressures derived from the pandemic and its impact on future revenue flows, obligations to meet 2030 Net Zero targets, and Brexit repercussions. These challenges have highlighted the requirement for public service organisations (PSOs) to enhance their innovation capabilities (Arundel et al. 2019). Existing literature evidences the value of supporting open innovation in the public sector (Mergel & DeSouza, 2013), the value of Communities of Practice (CoPs) within formal development programmes (Smith et al. 2018), and the efficacy of design thinking in developing new service solutions in collaboration with users (Harhoff & Lakhani, 2016). However, limited formal programmes are available to PSOs that enhance the capabilities required to develop solutions to their challenges. This paper presents a novel programme for PSOs that combines the above theories with an underpinning Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) pedagogy. The authors found no published evidence of similar inter-organisational programmes that support PSOs to co-design regional new service solutions that embed CE principles.
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